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A review by juliwi
You Were Here by Cory McCarthy
3.0
I'm very excited to start off this new month with such a different type of book than I usually read. When I first saw You Were Here I was intrigued and also unsure if the mix of different genres and mediums would work. In the end I'm very happy I gave McCarthy's book a try! Thanks to Sourcebooks Fire and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
As the blurb above might betray, there's loads happening in this novel. On the one hand the blurb betrays almost too much, but then McCarthy unfolds the plot with much more intricacy and sensitivity than you may think. Although I have often been hesitant about Young Adult fiction there is one thing about it I could never have denied and that is that the genre's authors are unafraid to tackle a lot of difficult topics. Although many novels unfortunately don't do so entirely successfully, it is a good sign for a genre to not shy away from difficulty. In You Were Here McCarthy deals with one of the hardest things anyone ever has to deal with and that is the loss of a family member and the impact that has on more than just direct family members. Although the focus of the novel doesn't necessarily lie on Jake's death, it is at the centre of everything. As the novel rolls along McCarthy reveals more of the shock waves of this one event and although much of it is pretty straightforward there are some twists and turns along the way which will make the reader feel for her characters.
Something I very much liked about You Were Here was its focus on friendship. There is little which feels as crucial in a teenager's life and is equally supportive and destructive to their sense of self. As everyone deals with the continuous blow-out of Jake's death different tensions arise and make each of the characters assess their role in the lives of others and what they stand to gain. Most of the characters are brought quite close to the reader whereas some stay on the periphery. Although the portrayals of these characters doesn't necessarily go very deep, they are incisive enough that everyone should be able to get something out of it.
I read McCarthy's You Were Here in a single sitting and it opened my eyes to the different ways in which literature can develop in the future. Although not perfect, it's a very enjoyable book. I'd recommend it to fans of YA and Contemporary fiction.
For full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/review-you-were-here-by-cori-mccarthy.html
As the blurb above might betray, there's loads happening in this novel. On the one hand the blurb betrays almost too much, but then McCarthy unfolds the plot with much more intricacy and sensitivity than you may think. Although I have often been hesitant about Young Adult fiction there is one thing about it I could never have denied and that is that the genre's authors are unafraid to tackle a lot of difficult topics. Although many novels unfortunately don't do so entirely successfully, it is a good sign for a genre to not shy away from difficulty. In You Were Here McCarthy deals with one of the hardest things anyone ever has to deal with and that is the loss of a family member and the impact that has on more than just direct family members. Although the focus of the novel doesn't necessarily lie on Jake's death, it is at the centre of everything. As the novel rolls along McCarthy reveals more of the shock waves of this one event and although much of it is pretty straightforward there are some twists and turns along the way which will make the reader feel for her characters.
Something I very much liked about You Were Here was its focus on friendship. There is little which feels as crucial in a teenager's life and is equally supportive and destructive to their sense of self. As everyone deals with the continuous blow-out of Jake's death different tensions arise and make each of the characters assess their role in the lives of others and what they stand to gain. Most of the characters are brought quite close to the reader whereas some stay on the periphery. Although the portrayals of these characters doesn't necessarily go very deep, they are incisive enough that everyone should be able to get something out of it.
I read McCarthy's You Were Here in a single sitting and it opened my eyes to the different ways in which literature can develop in the future. Although not perfect, it's a very enjoyable book. I'd recommend it to fans of YA and Contemporary fiction.
For full review: http://universeinwords.blogspot.co.uk/2016/03/review-you-were-here-by-cori-mccarthy.html